In a nutshell, a dog, Stu, gets rescued from the streets in 2000 and lives happily and comfortable with his owner, Jeff de la Rosa, and two other dogs. Life is good!

Fast forward to 2005. Dela Rosa is called out of town for a family emergency and his assistant — familiar with the dogs — steps in to care for them. There is a scuffle between two of the dogs and Stu’s ear gets torn in the scuffle. The assistant attempts to put Stu’s harness on him so he can be taken to vet, but wounded Stu snaps at the assistant, puncturing her arm twice. …

De la Rosa offers to pay the assistant’s medical bills. She goes to the hospital for treatment and tells the emergency room staff she does not know the dog that bit her. She doesn’t call the police of L.A. Animal Services.

Three weeks later, de la Rosa is served with a lawsuit seeking $6 million in damages for the assistant. Ten days later, de la Rosa comes home to find Stu missing from a locked outside kennel.

He receives a call from Animal Services that Stu has been “found and brought in by an unidentified private citizen.” When de la Rosa arrives at the kennel to retrieve his dog, he is told they just received a bite report on Stu and refuse to release him. …

Stu has been held by the City or in City-designated facilities since his mysterious exit from a locked kennel (the gate on his fence had been pried open from the outside), and de la Rosa has been fighting to save his dog’s life since. Two respected dog behaviorists have evaluated Stu and stated he is NOT aggressive towards humans.

You can read the rest of the post here. 

What do you think about Stu? Should he be released to his owner? Could this happen in Houston?

Hotel Derek is kicking off its Derek Dog Day Out—a social networking mixer for professionals and their four-legged family members. 

The first Derek Dog Day Out takes place July 30 from 6 – 9 p.m. and funds raised will benefit Citizens for Animal Protection.  Guests can mix and mingle, get massages for themselves and their pets while expanding their professional network. 

Derek Dog Day Out is an extension of Project Derek Dog, an annual event held at Hotel Derek each spring. 

The 2009 Project Derek Dog winner, Madison, will host events throughout the year to help raise funds for CAP, an organization which does extraordinary animal welfare work.

Madison, a chocolate brown standard poodle took the title this year and now makes appearances at dog-related hotel events.  Madison’s owner, Sondra Pulford and Hershey Grace, of CAP, are event co-chairs.

“Hotel Derek has been committed to the well-being of animals since it first opened,” said Hans Schmitt, general manager for the hotel.  “We think of our pets as part of our family and invite guests to bring their four-legged family members to experience the warm.

Participants in Derek Dog Day Out are asked for a $10 donation, which includes hors d’oeuvres.  For information visit Hotel Derek on the Web or CAP’s Web site.

The bit of good news I reported last week from the city of Houston’s troubled animal shelter didn’t tell the whole story.

While the shelter’s new policy to vaccinate all dogs upon or before intake is indeed progress, the practice wasn’t implemented until June 10 — not in January, as a city spokeswoman had indicated in my column, according to Kim Grieff, the recently resigned senior community liaison at Houston’s Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care.

Grieff, who reluctantly talked with me last week after trying to avoid media spotlight, also revealed what she believes is the true reason for the policy change: the killing of “hundreds of dogs” during about one week in late May or early June “because they were not vaccinated after several days in the facility.”

“It was assumed they would come down with distemper, so they were euthanized,” Grieff told me.

You can read the rest of her column here. 

A blogger for PetsHouston also had bad news out of BARC last week about dogs who were clearly underweight at an adoption event in the Heights. The post inspired a Craigslister to start a letter writing campaign to get the attention of Mayor Bill White.

The first ever Battle of the Pet Boutiques brought out the creative minds of the most fashionable, chic boutiques in Houston including Sasha’s Suds N Duds, A Tail and 4 Legs, A Dog’s Life Pet Salon, Gone to the Dogs and the Cat too, Pawty Palace, Fondren Five Star Kennels and A Dog’s Life Luxury Dog Boutique.

Battling it out in two categories, “Poolside Chic” and “Party ZaZa Style”, gave these 7 trendsetters a chance to show their most original and doglishious designs! Pawty Palace took grand prize with a two amazing entries that included a custom made Cinderella Carriage and Nautical Boat (thank’s to Jen’s husband!) sporting two adorable Yorkies.

Gone To The Dogs And The Cat Too took top honors in the Party Theme with a Circa early 1900’s beach theme and Fondren Five Star Kennels took honors in the Poolside Chic category with a Tropical hula theme and Hotel ZaZa’s logo “Z” carved into the fur of a French Poodle.

All of the entries were incredible from the full wedding gown worn by A Dog’s Life Luxury Dog Boutique to the wedding attire worn by the lucky bride and groom couple representing A Tail and 4 Legs.

Don’t miss this event next time because it’s truly a treat to see the imagination of our local boutiques take center stage!

Vendors were also on hand to show off their facilities and services or sell their products. The event was heavily attended by the media including TV coverage on Fox 26 and press coverage by the Houston Chronicle, OO2 Magazine, Modern Luxury and more.

Guests enjoyed libations and passed nibbles while the dogs drank Evian water from Evian supplied water bowls. Evian also donated a case of Designer Water Bottles for the Raffle, along with fabulous gift baskets from Hotel ZaZa, Houston PetTalk, Houston SPCA and A Dog’s Life Luxury Boutique. Photos are posted here

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Austin German Shepherd Dog Rescue is participating in Macy’s Charity Day at the new store north of Houston in Humble, Texas at Deerbrook Mall on Saturday, August 1 from 10 a.m to 9 p.m.

Charity Day is an all-day shopping event that supports local non-profit organizations.

Austin German Shepherd Dog Rescue is selling $5 tickets to the event and purchasers will be entitled to 10% - 25% off discounts throughout the store and a chance to win a $500 Macy’s shopping spree. There will be other fun through out the day.

Charities get to keep 100% proceeds of the tickets they sell. At the event, Austin German Shepherd Dog Rescue will have a table setup in the store 10 a.m - 12:30 p.m and some available dogs to meet and to learn more about the organization.

If you are interested in helping to raise funds, visit Austin German Shepherd Dog rescue online:

The deadline for purchasing tickets is Saturday, July 25, 2009.

NOTE: AGSDR rescued the four dogs in the photo were rescued from Hurricane Ike from a kill shelter.  They all tested positive for heartworm and needed treatment.  All of them were adopted expect the one named Ike.

• Take your dog for a long walk before the festivities start. This will allow him to potty outside before all of the noise begins and the exercise may help tire him out.
• During firework displays, keep your dog indoors in a confined and secure area with shades closed. You might also try adding some white noise with an oscillating fan.
• Turn on your television or radio with the volume up a bit for an added distraction.
• If your dog does become stressed, try to make the fireworks a cue for fun time to begin. Play a fun game with him and act a bit silly. Your fun behavior and body language can help distract him from the noise outside.
• You can try a pheromone product like Comfort Zone with D.A.P. which can help relax your dog. Plan on exposing your dog to the pheromones at least a couple of weeks ahead of time.
• It’s not recommended that you take your dog to a fireworks display. However, if you do, keep him on a leash and check his collar to make sure that it’s properly fit so he won’t slip out of it.
• Make sure your dog’s collar has current identification tags on it, in case he does escape. For extra safety, make sure your pet is microchipped. July 5th is one of the busiest days of the year for local animal shelters. Dogs end up miles from home, confused, disorientated and exhausted. Having an ID tag and microchip can help expedite your reunion.
• If your dog is extremely sensitive, consider consulting your veterinarian for a mild sedative or tranquillizer to help keep your dog calm. There are also herbal remedies that are available which can sometimes help. Speak with your veterinarian about your options.

By using these recommendations you can help make the holiday enjoyable for everyone.

References

DAP with Comfort Zone

Rescue Remedy

Premier Calming Cap

“I used to look at (my dog) Smokey and think,  ‘If you were a little smarter, you could tell me what you were thinking,’ and he’d look at me like he was saying,  ‘If you were a little smarter,  I wouldn’t have to.’”

~Fred Jungclaus

Stephanie Bennett

Certified Canine Trainer & Behavior Specialist

Professional Dog Training in Houston, TX

GetAlongLittleDoggie.net

323-573-0727

This coupon book will debut at the Reliant Dog Show, July 18 & 19 so be sure to stop by our booth and grab one while they last. The coupons will also be distributed at other major pet events throughout the fall as supplies last. These special offers and discounts will allow you to try some new products or services and introduce you to additional pet resources. Coupons will include discounts for daycare, boarding, grooming, pet sitting, supplies and much more!!

If you are a business that would like to advertise in the Coupon Book, please email cparker@houstonpettalk.com for information.

These are all dogs who had been at BARC (our city pound) for weeks or months.  No record is made of their weight at in-take (and why not , I’d like to know) but according to volunteers and medical records that show the amount of medication needed, their weights have all decreased dramatically.  Even if they had come in like this, their weights could have brought up to normal given the right amount of food.

And if you think that the new director, Ray Sim, is leaving his office now and again to see how the animals he is in charge of are doing so that he can make it right by requiring that his workers actually feed the dogs, you’re sorely mistaken.

People, you’re paying good money for someone to run this shelter and he’s not doing his job. You’re also paying for people to feed these dogs and they can’t even handle that simple, basic task.  If you don’t have pity on these poor animals, at least stand up for yourselves as taxpayers!  This can’t continue.

Forget the No Kill debate for a second and let’s concentrate on the basic need for food.  Call or e-mail your elected officials and tell them you’ve seen the pictures of the starving dogs.  Tell them to get someone to feed them NOW and EVERY DAY.

Let them know if they don’t get their act together enough to get these dogs fed by next election day then they don’t deserve your vote.

You can read the full blog here.

Hotel ZaZa and Houston PetTalk Magazine threw a pet soiree poolside at the swanky Museum District Hotel that was not only great fun, but raised money for the Houston SPCA.

The first ever Battle of the Pet Boutiques brought out the creative minds of the most fashionable, chic boutiques in Houston including Sasha’s Suds N Duds, A Tail and 4 Legs, A Dog’s Life Pet Salon, Gone to the Dogs and the Cat too, Pawty Palace, Fondren Five Star Kennels and A Dog’s Life Luxury Dog Boutique.

Battling it out in two categories, “Poolside Chic” and “Party ZaZa Style”, gave these 7 trendsetters a chance to show their most original and doglishious designs! Pawty Palace took grand prize with a two amazing entries that included a custom made Cinderella Carriage and Nautical Boat (thank’s to Jen’s husband!) sporting two adorable Yorkies.

Gone To The Dogs And The Cat Too took top honors in the Party Theme with a Circa early 1900’s beach theme and Fondren Five Star Kennels took honors in the Poolside Chic category with a Tropical hula theme and Hotel ZaZa’s logo “Z” carved into the fur of a French Poodle.

All of the entries were incredible from the full wedding gown worn by A Dog’s Life Luxury Dog Boutique to the wedding attire worn by the lucky bride and groom couple representing A Tail and 4 Legs.

Don’t miss this event next time because it’s truly a treat to see the imagination of our local boutiques take center stage!

Vendors were also on hand to show off their facilities and services or sell their products. The event was heavily attended by the media including TV coverage on Fox 26 and press coverage by the Houston Chronicle, OO2 Magazine, Modern Luxury and more.

Guests enjoyed libations and passed nibbles while the dogs drank Evian water from Evian supplied water bowls. Evian also donated a case of Designer Water Bottles for the Raffle, along with fabulous gift baskets from Hotel ZaZa, Houston PetTalk, Houston SPCA and A Dog’s Life Luxury Boutique. Photos are posted here; Video coming soon!